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Governments torture to extract information from a determine person, prepare a prisoner for a short trail, to an end to or even reversing the political ideologies of prisons and also to inculcate a climates of generalised fear among its citizens.
As Paul Sortre puts it “the purpose of torture is not only the extraction of information or betrayal, the victim must disgrace himself by his screams and his submission, like a human animals. In the eyes of everybody and in his own eyes who yields under torture is not only to be made to talk but is also to be marked as subhuman”. What ever the reason for torture, one think is certain, torture breaks the body and spirit of the victim and of close family member.
There is no straight jacket as to who can be a torturer. If we go by the definition of a public official, then 3 kinds of torture can be identified.
1) Public Servants who give orders:
The politics/regime in place carries the primary responsibility for the torture inflicted by its police or armed forces on the citizens. Their acts are translated as the acts of the state, making the state vicariously liable for their activity. These authorities hide themselves and feign ignorance concerning the real activities of the agents of national security. The Government should know better these perpetrators because of the existence of crack forces with very wide powers to arrest and detain summarily without trial.
2) Executors: They include legal officers, any body governed by public law, armed forces, prisons administrators, police officers or any person charged with the task force. These agents execute the orders of their superior. However, Art 2 of the UN Convention Against torture and other Cruel Inhuman, Degrading treatment and punishment provides that it is no excuse for such junior officers to invoke an order from the superior officers as justification for torture. These agents carryout torture during the detention of an accused when the case is being investigated or when he has already been incarcerated. The police and gendarmes use the popular “Balançoise” where the victim is hung from a rod with his hand tied behind his back, and he is spun round while flogging goes on. Another dreading torture method used by the law enforce officers is the “Bastonnade”, whereby the torturers heat the victims on the soles of his feet, or extractions where nails, teeth and pubic hairs are torn out; and finally by electric shock delivered on sensitive parts of the body.
At times, some detainees are force to witness the torture of their friends and these frightful scenes usually cause the weak heart to speak out because of the fear of being subjected to the treatment.
Officers who lack basic knowledge of human right do not see any harm in such treatment and rather see them as a routine part of their job.
There are also those who collaborate with torturers like officials who are governed by Public law. Here we are talking of judges (magistrates) or medical doctors who are usually used to camouflage the real cause of a victim’s death. A typical example is that of Mr Ngwa Ghandi were in the military medical officer who had neglected treating him, participated in the autopsy and attempted to falsify the cause of his death.
3) Government’s Action to combat torture: Human Rights are inalienable rights inherent in a human person and not rights given by the state. The Cameroon government has a role to play in enforcing these rights and as such it has taken the following measures.
a) The constitution: It stands above all the laws in the country and so in the hierarchy of sources; it takes priority over any national law. The preamble of the 1996 constitution in its first paragraph emphasis that all humans without distinction as to race, sex, religion and belief possess inalienable rights. It specifically points out in paragraph 14 that everybody has a right to life, physical and moral integrity and to humane treatment in all circumstances and under no circumstances shall any body be subjected to torture. By implication, torture is forbidden and that there can be no excuse for perpetrating torture. The constitution has its preamble incorporated expressly in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter, which emphasis the inviolability of the human person and completely forbids torture or cruel and inhuman treatment in any circumstance.
b) Cameroon has signed and ratifies a handful of international instrument, which prohibit torture. Amongst these are the international covenant on civil and political Rights which provides in Art 7 that “no one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.” Cameroon, also ratify the UN Convention against torture or inhuman treatment and punishment in 1986. This convention does not only forbid torture but stresses that there is no justification for it and also call for penal sanctions to perpetrators and redress by the victims as provided for in Art 4 and 14. By ratifying these conventious, Cameroon has become directly applicable unless there is specification to the contrary. Under the convention against torture, Cameroon must investigate promptly and impartially any allegations of torture in its jurisdiction as warranted by Art 12 irrespectively of complaint.
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Akwalla Johanness
I am a young development activist who believes that for youths to be successful, we need to come together and share ideas that are beneficial to the whole of humanity.
I strongly believe that for Africa to come out of the political hostage its finds itself, our leaders must stop to consider themselves as traditional rulers. We all know that traditional rulers rule for life, and power is passed on to their descendant. And I think that once our leaders stop to think of themselves as such and concentrate on development by investing into the education and basic health care and social services, then can we say we are on the right path to human development.
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